Zach Johnson ripped after advice turns costly for Jordan Spieth
Zach Johnson's run as Ryder Cup captain is going terribly.
Already facing criticism for the U.S.'s disastrous start to the 2023 Ryder Cup, Johnson made matters worse when his advice to Jordan Spieth backfired epically on Saturday.
Spieth was set to hit the tee shot with his driver until Johnson persuaded him to switch to a 3-wood. Then, Spieth promptly hit the ball into the water.
Afterward, Johnson was heavily criticized for giving Spieth poor advice.
Chalk up his error on Saturday as another in a line of miscues for the embattled U.S. Ryder Cup captain. His opening-day pairing of Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns drew criticism from Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who said, "They've had a long time to look at data and I'd love to see the data where Scheffler and Burns is the best team to put out there first."
"I was surprised it wasn't Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele to go out there first and meet strength to strength," he added, noting Burns' poor driving accuracy, among other shortcomings, as a reason why Johnson missed the mark with the pairing.
He was also blasted for his pre-Ryder Cup strategy of resting the U.S. team for five weeks before the competition while Team Europe members played at the BMW PGA Championship from Sept. 14-17.
Per Golf Digest, Sky Sports analyst Andrew Coltart blasted Johnson, saying, "Who on earth in their right mind thinks the best way to prepare for a Ryder Cup is to take five weeks off? Nine of 12 American players took five weeks off. That's disgraceful."
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